Wiki: Press

I haven't actively tried to hype OCR too much myself - that's not my thing - but through word of mouth and the nature of the net it's gotten some pretty favorable and well-appreciated press. While I'd still be just as dedicated to the site and I think it would mean just as much if it was more obscure, with less visitors and attention, it's nevertheless been rewarding to see more mainstream acceptance - or at least acknowledgement. The additional fans as well as ReMixers this exposure has brought along have also become valued members of the community. Here's a quick overview of some (not all) of the places OCR has popped up, in rough chronological order:

EDGE Magazine

First known mention of OCR in print. Some amusing typos ("DR Pretzel") notwithstanding, a nice + favorable write-up as site of the month in this Canadian periodical. However, they certainly didn't dig my Super Mario Jazz Plumber ReMix, and specifically cited it as essentially sucking. Oh well.

Slashdot

A casual mention on Slashdot brought in a flood of visits and many new eyes and ears seeing OCR for the first time. Amazingly, the site survives and doesn't suffer the dreaded "/. effect". Comments range from very positive to somewhat dismissive, and of course OCR is more than just arcade ReMixes as the topic title suggests, but still pretty cool.

TechTV (The Screen Savers)

First and only known mention of OCR on television. VERY cool spot where they actually played two SMB ReMixes (Jazz Plumber - which they seemed to like, I might add and Italian Plumber) side by side and also the original, to illustrate the concept. The online mention is of course shorter and disses the popup ads, but the TV spot was really pretty cool.

Salon

The first in-depth article specifically on game ReMixes, which covered OCR as well as other game remix and arrangement sites, and did an excellent & eloquent job of summing up what it's all about. There's some minor issues, but overall this is equitable & solid journalism, and is probably the first to acknowledge what has essentially become a musical subculture on the net. And I'm not just saying that because they gave me the closing quote.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

"Caught in the Net: Freshly Remixed", #169, page 30, June 2002

EGM magazine! I remember buying the very first issues of this, the largest video game mag in the US, a VERY long time ago - back when it was 'Sega Genesis vs. NEC Turbografx-16 - who will win?'. Quite cool to have one of their editors mail me about being included in an upcoming issue, and even cooler to see it happen. This was directly responsible for many new faces showing up in our forums, and also for getting sgtRama, whose Kirby mix was mentioned, completely stoked. It should be noted that both now and at time of press not all mixes are "handpicked" by me - many go through our judges panel - but the screenshot came out pretty well and is our current, permanent logo as well.